Autumn With You
by InkAndJournal
Summary: Keith Kogane loves Lalia Sanchez. Or he's supposed to. When he meets Lalia's family in Cuba, he meets Lance Sanchez and falls head over heels for him. And now Keith doesn't know what to do. Should he stay in an one sided relationship with Lalia? Or should he confess to Lance, who might be straight?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: who said anything about self control?

The thing i dont have

Ha h a

Otherwise enjoyy

Keith was supposed to be with a boy. He was gay and he figured that out in seventh grade. So why he was in a relationship with Lalia Sanchez stumped him to no ends. She confessed first so he supposed he didn't want to break her heart at the time.

But he didn't suspect it'd go to the point where he was on a plane ride to Cuba to meet the Sanchez family. Lalia was curled into Keith's body and she was sleeping, Keith was listening to his music.

 _No I'm at an all time low..._

How was it that Jon Bellion could summarize his feelings in one song but Keith couldn't make heads or tails of the situation he was in? He looked at the ceiling of the airplane, unable to fall asleep like Lalia.

Was it because she was pretty?

Did he want the popularity?

Or was he so drunk he forgot all about his sexuality?

 _Low, low, low, low_

Keith hated it when the kissed.

He hated it when they slept together.

He hated how he was tricking Lalia into falling in love with him when he was gay and could never give her the love she deserved.

 _Low, low, low..._

Keith sighed and looked at Lalia's mess of hair. She had cut it to her shoulders two months ago and now it reached her mid chest. He didn't smile as he ought to. He didn't stroke her head. He didn't whisper his supposed undying love to her. He simply looked away and checked his phone for any emails he might've forgotten to check when they were on the ground.

He hated it.

Hated his trickery.

And hated this fucking lie he shared with Lalia.

Lalia woke up to find Keith staring at the chair in front of him before they touched down. She didn't say anything, he didn't say anything. They had their passports checked, they collected their luggage, and they waited for Lalia's twin brother to pick them up.

They said nothing the whole way.

As they waited, Keith checked his emails and Lalia called her brother and yelled at him in Spanish. When she hung up, she looked at Keith and smiled weakly.

"He's... a bit late." she chuckled nervously. Keith raised and eyebrow.

"Sure seems like it." he returned. Lalia looked at the door again.

"He's a nice guy, I'm sure you'll like him."

"He seems prerty sketchy when you describe him to me like that."

"Haha Keith." Lalia rolled her eyes and her eyes lit up when she saw someone at the door, she waved frantically and Keith followed her eyes to... him. He was gorgeous with warm brown skin, chocolate hair, and a slim figure. Keith felt his jaw drop, and his cheeks explode in warmth and crimson. The male caught sight of Lalia's hand and smiled, so wide Keith had the random thought that it was a foot wide. Keith's heart raced as the male approached them. When he was closer, Keith shut his mouth and Lalia ran towards him and the two hugged and cried in Spanish. Keith sat there awkwardly as he made the connection that this was Lalia's twin brother.

Lance Sanchez.

Lance and Lalia stopped hugging and Lalia intwined her fingers with Keith's.

"Lance, this is my boyfriend Keith." she smiled. Lance smiled as well and shook Keith's free hand.

"Pleased to meet ya. The name's Lance." Lance said and Keith felt his cheeks flame again.

"Y-Yeah. I'm glad to meet you t-too. Lalia has told me a lot about you. All good things! Heh..." Keith prayed Lance didn't notice the color on his cheeks, or notice the obvious stutter Keith had suddenly adopted. Lance continued smiling and Keith saw the strange look on Lalia's face. He didn't care though.

Keith was smitten with Lance.

The ride to the Sanchez house was...

Loud.

It involved the twins yelling at each other in Spanish and it involved Keith sitting quietly in the back. He didn't mind, he loved the way Lance spoke every word, the way his eyes lit up, and the way he smirked at Keith when he was least expecting it. Keith utterly loved this boy.

When they reached the Sanchez house, Keith was dizzy and didn't complain when Lance took Keith's suitcase upstairs, leaving Lalia to fend for herself. Lance put the suitcase outside a door and spoke to Keith. Keith didn't hear what he was saying, he was too busy watching the way Lance's lips moved.

"-eith?" Keith's attention towards Lance's mouth and he looked at Lance's eyes instead. Shit. They were good-looking too! Keith settled at looking at Lance's forehead, which was creased in worry. Keith wanted to kiss away those creases. No stop gay thoughts! he thought desperately.

"Sorry I wasn't listening." Keith said. Lance smirked.

"I said Hunk and his girlfriend are arriving soon and I have to pick them up. Do you want to tag along?" Lance repeated. Keith nodded.

"Y-Yeah! Just give me a second to change my shirt?" he asked. Lance nodded and opened the room, took the suitcase inside, and quickly left. Keith didn't look at the room, just focused on opening the damn suitcase and putting on a striped short-sleeve shirt. Then he rushed outside where Lance was waiting for him by his blue car and ushered him inside. Lalia waved them goodbye as Lance drove down the dusty road.

Lance and Keith talked.

And talked and talked and talked.

They talked about Jon Bellion's debut album, about the beaches in Cuba, about how Keith needed to surf at least once before he left.

Not once did they talk about Lalia.

Keith was fucking ecstatic.

Lance didn't even mind the fact that Keith wasn't single, he flirted with him shamelessly.

Keith blushed at each pickup line and didn't protest. A couple times he swore he saw Lance's cheek flush with color as they talked. When they picked up Hunk and Shay, the youths greeted each other as if old friends and Keith was subject to hugs (Hunk) and pecks on the cheek (Shay). Shay was Romanian and as Keith understood it, Romanians greeted friends with pecks on each cheek. Keith had smiled nervously at Shay and Hunk, who shrugged and laughed. It amazed Keith how Hunk didn't mind Shay's affectionate greeting. Lance elbowed Keith in the side and smirked.

"Your face is a strawberry." he said. Keith laughed along.

Yeah..

He was utterly smitten with the other Sanchez twin.

And he didn't mind it one bit.

A/N: just over 1100 words ha ha h a

Hope you enjoyed this lil chap!


	2. Chapter 2

"So Keith.. how long have you been dating?" Shay asked sneakily in the car. Lance stiffened up, he knew Shay's little jokes and he desperately tried to remember if he ever told her that Keith was dating Lalia, not him.

His memory gave him a report of negative.

He cursed in his mind and was about to protest before Keith responded with, "About six months, why do you ask?" In Lance's mind, he was screaming at Keith and his obliviousness. However, Lance's face was impassive as he concentrated on the road.

"Oh do tell. Get any stares from that fine ass Lance has?"

The car erupted into confusion.

Hunk stared at his girlfriend, mortified. Lance was yelling profanity in a mixture of English and Spanish. Poor Keith looked like a strawberry kitten with his face red and his hair on end as he stammered in Korean. Shay looked around the car in confusion, it had seemed so obvious to her that Keith and Lance were dating! Lance was the first to break the tension.

"Shay I appreciate the... compliment. Really I do have a fine ass," he gave Keith a shit-eating grin before continuing, "but Keith is straight. He's dating Lalia." Shay's mouth formed an 'o'. Hunk sighed and smiled.

"This will be a great story to tell at dinner tonight."

"'The story in which Keith switched Sanchez lovers'... I like it!" Lance remarked. Keith sputtered and cursed in Korean at the Latino.

"Neo babo gat-eun jasig!"

"Uh Keith.. no one hear speaks Korean.." Hunk responded to Keith's profanity.

"Well I have Google Translate in the car, hey Google!" Lance commanded his car. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"Yes O wondorous Lance Sanchez? How may I help you?" Google responded which caused Hunk and Shay to howl in laughter and Keith to smile softly at Lance who was wearing a smirk.

"Translate whatever Korean you just heard."

"Will do m'lord." At this Hunk made dying goat noises and Shay laughed even harder.

"Who.. the.. hell.. programmed this?!" Hunk asked between laughter.

"None other than the Pidgey." responded Lance with a grin.

"Oh man I gotta ask her to program my car, the genius." Shay laughed.

"I deeply apologize m'lord but I was unable to translate the Korean. Could you perhaps repeat it?" Google said. Everyone turned to Keith expectingly. He smirked.

"Kkulbeol-i nal su-issneun bangbeob-eun eobs-seubnida."

"Dude, that was longer than what you said earlier." Lance said with a raised eyebrow.

"Eat it Sanchez."

"Party killer."

"M'lord a translation has arrived. Shall I read it to you?" Google said. Lance smiled.

"By all means, yes."

"There is no way a bee can fly." Silence blessed the car before a roar shattered it.

"DID YOU JUST MEME US MULLET?!"

When they got home, Lalia was pissed off at Keith.

"Where the hell were you?!" she demanded, pointing a finger at Keith's face.

"... at the airport." Keith responded, holding his hands up.

"For two fucking hours?!"

"We detoured off for a little bit so we could grab lunch."

"Well I sure as hell hope you enjoyed looking at Shay's boobs because it sure seems like it!" Keith finally smelled the alcohol on her breath.

"Lalia what the fuck- were you drinking again?!"

"Why is it always that I had alcohol, why can't it be that I fucking miss you?!" Lalia was banging her fists on Keith's chest, sobbing.

"Lalia! It's fucking three in the afternoon! Why the hell are you drinking?" Keith removed her fists from his chest.

"Because you never loved me." she sobbed. He heard a sigh behind him and Lance made an appearence.

"Lalia deja a Keith solo."

"Tuviste ojos para él la primera vez que te reuniste!" Lalia whined.

"¡Yo no! Ahora dormir fuera del alcohol!"

"Sólo si prometes no dormir con él."

"Sí, sí. Ahora ve a ser molesto en el país de los sueños." Lalia kissed Keith's cheek and trudged off.

"Thanks Lance." Keith sighed. Lance put his hand on Keith's shoulder.

"She'll regret it when she wakes up."

Keith hoped she didn't.

Not long after Lalia's little episode, Lance's cousin and her boyfriend touched down and Lance was sent to go get them. Keith just climbed into the car because Lalia was still sleeping off the alcohol and Hunk and Shay were off surfing with Antonio Sanchez and Esperanza Sanchez, Lance's older brother and sister-in-law.

In the car Lance looked at Keith worriedly.

"Hey, are you okay mullet?" he asked. Keith nodded after a beat.

"Yeah.. it's just Lalia drinks way too much and she's scary like that.." he confessed. Lance sighed and leaned back on his chair.

"Dios bueno- Keith, our uncle had... problems let's say. He drank too much, smoked a lot, and was high way too often for it to be occassional. I guess he was really sad about his husband leaving him. My cousin we're picking up right now is the daughter of the husband that left. Anyway, Lalia looked up to Tio Mateo. To her, he was the strongest person alive. Tio Mateo let Lalia try every damn thing that passed his own lips"-Lance's grip on the wheel tightened-"She had drank whiskey, wine, beer, every type of alcohol at thirteen years old. She grew obsessed with alcohol. When she was fifteen and came home drunk one night... Mama lost it and forbade Lalia from ever seeing Mateo again. Lalia was heartbroken and ran away for a month. When she came back, she was better but she drank a lot more. When she was seventeen she picked up smoking but didn't touch drugs, thank god. A year later she went into rehab, and then into college a year later." Lance held a hand to his mouth and whispered, "I didn't know it got this bad again." Keith rested a hand on Lance's arm.

"She doesn't smoke anymore if it makes you feel better." Keith said. Lance removed the hand from his mouth and nodded.

"It does help, thanks."

Keith's arm remained on Lance's shoulder for the whole car ride.

Keith has never believed the saying 'It's a small world after all' before now.

His half brother was walking towards him with a similar expression.

"S-Silo?" Keith stammered when he regained his senses.

"Kīsu?" Shiro returned with a shocked expression.

"Who's this?" asked a voice beside Shiro. Keith snapped his gaze from Shiro to a very pretty lady on Shiro's arm.

"Allura, kore wa watashi no otōtodesu. Kīsu." Shiro responded in Japanese. Allura looked at Keith with a shocked expression.

"Kīsu? Watashi wa kare ga Amerika ni sunde iru to omotta?" the female responded in perfect Japanese.

"Watashi mo sō omotta." Shiro then turned back to Keith with a confused expression and spoke in Korean, "Neo yeogiseo mwohago issni?"

"Nae yeoja chinguga yeogiissda..."

"Yeoja chingu?!" Keith winced at Shiro's disbelief.

"Gin iyagi."

"Can someone please speak English for once?!" Lance exclaimed, exasperated by the amount of foreign languages spoken in a short three minutes.

A/N: 1116 WORDS WOOP

Okay prepare for the shit load of translations:

neo babo gat-eun jasig!: You fucking idiot!

Lalia deja a Keith solo.: Lalia leave Keith alone.

Tuviste ojos para él la primera vez que te reuniste!: you had eyes for him the first time you met

¡Yo no! Ahora dormir fuera del alcohol!:I didn't! Now go and sleep off the alcohol!

Sólo si prometes no dormir con él.: only if you promise not to sleep with him

Sí, sí. Ahora ve a ser molesto en el país de los sueños.: Yeah, yeah. Now go be annoying in dreamland.

Silo: Shiro

Kīru: Keith

Allura, kore wa watashi no otōtodesu. Kīsu: Allura, this is my half brothet. Keith

Kīsu? Watashi wa kare ga Amerika ni sunde iru to omotta?: Keith? I thought he lived in America?

Watashi mo sō omotta.: i thought so too

Neo yeogiseo mwohago issni?: what are you doing here?

Nae yeoja chinguga yeogiissda...: My girlfriend's here...

Yeoja chingu?!: Girlfriend?!

Gin iyagi: Long story.

As always, correct me if I'm wrong ^^; google translate can only get you so far...

McFrazzle i got 3%

ADIOS AMIGOS

Ninka winka


	3. Small Explanation

Before we start getting into a shit ton of confusion here's the Sanchez family:

Carlos Sanchez: Father of Lance and siblings (58 yo)

Camila Sanchez: Mother of Lance and siblings (55 yo)

Antonio Sanchez: Eldest brother of Lance (30 yo)

Esperanza Sanchez: Wife of Antonio (28 yo)

Alejandro Sanchez: son of Antonio and Esperanza (8 yo)

Alessandra Sanchez: daughter of Antonio and Esperanza (5 yo)

Luciana Sanchez: Lance's eldest sister (25 yo)

Samuel Hernandez: Luciana's fiancé (25 yo)

Nicolas Sanchez: Lance's second oldest brother (24 yo)

Jimena Sanchez: Nicolas's wife (22 yo)

Mariana Sanchez: daughter of Nicolas and Jimena, twin to Isabella (1 yo)

Isabella Sanchez: daughter of Nicolas and Jimena, twin to Mariana (1 yo)

Valentina Sanchez: older sister to Lance (21 yo)

Lance Sanchez: twin to Lalia (19 yo)

Lalia Sanchez: twin to Lance (19 yo)

Alex Sanchez: youngest male of Sanchez family (14 yo)

Sofia Sanchez: youngest female of Sanchez family (9 yo)

Quick rundown on the guests:

Allura Altea: cousin to Lance, daughter of Alfor (brother to Camila), girlfriend of Shiro (25 yo)

Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane: boyfriend of Allura, half brother to Keith (25 yo)

Hunk Garrett: best friend on Lance, boyfriend of Shay (19 yo)

Shay Moldova: girlfriend of Hunk (19 yo)

Katie "Pidge" Holt: friend of Sanchez family, best friend of Lance, sister to Matt (15 yo)

Matt Holt: friend of Shiro, brother to Katie (22 yo)

Keith Kogane: boyfriend to Lalia, half brother of Shiro (19 yo)

Hope this clarifies some stuff in future chaps :')


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: school is a bitch~

Enjoy! (/°w°)/ ~

"Lance, meet my half brother Shiro?" Keith replied to Lance's outburst. Allura, or ar least he assumed her to be, looked at Shiro with wide, blue, bewildered eyes. Shiro was looking at Keith, Lance, and Allura in turn trying to decipher whatever the hell was happening.

"You mean to tell me that Takashi Shirogane, your half brother, is in a relationship with my cousin?!" Lance asked, shrilly.

"Yes?"

"Can we figure this out after me and Allura get at least five hours of sleep? It's a thirteen hour jet lag for us." Shiro asked as Allura sipped her coffee.

"Sleep sounds like heaven right now." she said simply, taking another long sip.

"Alright fine." Lance huffed, grabbing Allura's baggage, "You owe me an explanation in the car Keith!" Keith shook his head, sighing.

"Is he always like this?" he asked Shiro.

"Yep. How are you settling in?" Shiro answered and asked. Keith shrugged.

"Okay, I guess."

"That's good, now who's this girlfriend I hear of?" Keith half groaned, half sighed.

"Do we have to talk about her?"

"Yes. As your half brother, I deserve to know."

"Well she confessed to me and I entered into a relationship with her. I don't know why I did it Shiro. Please don't ask." Shiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"She's a troubled kid Keith. Don't play with her heart."

"Stop acting like you're eighty."

"You stop being so immature."

"It's better than being afraid of spiders."

"Keith!"

Lance stared at the road ahead of them. Allura was fast asleep on Shiro's shoulder who had an arm around the slim female as he dozed off. Keith was mentally reciting what he was going to tell Lance.

"So." Lance drawled. Keith sighed.

"Shiro is my half brother, we have the same biological mother. Shiro's dad split with her after he found out she was pregenant. My mom met my dad in Korea, they got married, had me, and that's the story." Keith said rapidly.

"Okay.. How did Allura meet Shiro then?"

"I don't know. He never even told me he had a girlfriend!" The truth was Keith and Shiro had fallen out shortly before Shiro left for college and the two didn't repair their relationship. He knew he and Shiro would eventually have to talk it out, but Keith didn't want to think about it.

"Alright, alright. Chill."

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Does my fine ass sound like a suitable topic?" Keith glared at the Cuban, thankful that he had the heat to blame for his bright red blush, "Alright. Not a good topic. Gotcha."

"Is anyone else coming?"

"Just Pidge and Matt I'm guessing. Matt would've come with Shiro, but he literally mailed himself to America. Pidge told me he looked like a half dead corpse when he got there."

"He sounds interesting."

"He's a nice guy just... a little bit obsessive."

"I have a feeling that's an understatment."

"It's the understatment of the century." Lance turned left.

"What does he do? I've never heard about him from my brother." Lance snorted.

"He sounds like a great brother." Keith sighed

"Of the century."

"Matt's studying to be an engineer or something. All I know is that he can hack, but Pidge is something else. She can rewire pretty much anything. Half of the time she's the snarkiest being alive but she's okay."

"They sound like the kind of people that are called nerdy."

"Tell them that to their faces and they will give you a nerd slap."

"A nerd slap?"

"It's worse than a bitch slap. They know exactly where to hit so it'll sting for the week."

"... duly noted."

They got home and Keith was overwhelmed by one question.

How the hell does one family have so many people.

Lance and Lalia had briefly mentioned that their family was huge, but Keith was concerned if the house would even remain standing from having so many people. While they were gone, Antonio and Esperanza had brought over Pidge and Matt from the airport. Keith decided that they were okay and short.

Shorter than he thought possible.

In addition to Keith, Shiro, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, Shay, and Matt there was the Sanchez family who consisted of a whopping seventeen members.

It would be difficult finding places for everyone to sleep.

In fact, they were arguing about it now.

The whole Sanchez family was home and Keith was quickly discovering that Sanchez arguments were a big deal.

"I am not sleeping in the same room as Sofia, Mami!" Alex yelled at his mom while pointing an accusatory finger at Sofia. Sofia was pouting at the said finger and making little angry nine-year-old noises.

"Why? Do you masturbate or something?" Valentina asked Alex who in turn flipped her off.

"Tina! There are children!" Lance screeched as he dove to cover Sofia's ears.

"I'm nine Lance! I'm big enough!" Sofia screeched as she batted away Lance's hands.

"Alex, Sofia, Alejandro, Alessandra, and Lance will all sleep in the Alex's room." boomed Mr. Sanchez, quickly silencing all noises of protest.

"But Alex snores!" protested Lance, clearly not wanting to share a room with his siblings, niece, and nephew.

"Yeah right! At least I don't drool in my sleep and spend half an hour on skincare." Alex shot back. Lance looked visibly irked and nearly dove at him if not for Antonio holding him back.

"Okay now that's settled, we should discuss the couples and where they're going to be sleeping. We don't want any funny business." Antonio said as he struggled with Lance. All the couples in the room groaned. Keith guessed this was normal.

"Antonio, must we remind you that you were caught banging Esperanza one too many times?" Luciana groaned. Antonio sputtered and blushed.

"Shut up! All of you!" yelled a loud, feminime voice. Keith nearly doubled over laughing when he saw it was Mrs. Sanchez who sileneced the whole house. Even the birds stopped tweeting. Mrs. Sanchez took a breath and continued, "We have seven bedrooms total. Hunk, Shay, and Pidge are all going to sleep in the guest bedroom downstairs. Lance, Lalia, and Keith will sleep in the other bedroom downstairs. Antonio, Esperanza, Alejandro, and Alessandra will all sleep in the guest bedroom on this floor. Nicolas and Jimena with their children are in the other room. Luciana and Samuel on the couch. Allura, Shiro, and Matt will sleep in the extra bedroom upstairs. Alex and Valentina will sleep in Alex's room, and Sofia will sleep with me and Carlos in our room."

"Carlos and I, Mami." said Luciana, sounding exactly like a professer. Mrs. Sanchez smiled.

"Gracias Lucy." then she turned to everyone else, "Go ahead and get situated, those of you who are awake will help with dinner." She clapped her hands twice and everyone whirled off in a storm of Spanish and grumbles. Keith looked at Lalia and Lance, who were glaring at each other.

"I can't believe it.." Lalia grumbled.

"We have to share a room.." Lance huffed.

"Again!" they both growled. Keith shook his head, at least he wasn't with Shiro.

Lance led them to the basement after they went upstairs and got Keith's baggage. Lance hadn't stopped grumbling about how he needed a cup of coffee. Lance kicked open the door and invited them in.

"Welcome to your room. We'll be staying her for five nights." Lance broadcasted brightly. It was rather large, with a pull out couch in the back and a coffee table and TV in the front. A brightly colored rug was spread on the floor and contrasted with the gray walls and wooden floor.

"It's nice." Keith said, before realizing there was only a pull out couch," Er, Lance.. where are you sleeping?" Lance laughed at Keith.

"Don't worry, I got a mattress I'll be sleeping on."

"Don't argue with him Keith, he'll be insistent." Lalia said, unpacking her cosmetic supplies and her pyjamas, "Plus, he gets to sleep with the rats."

"Lalia! Don't insult your childhood home!" Lance dramtically gasped. Keith smiled as the twins exchanged friendly barter. They continued for a minute before Lalia yawned.

"Aw, is the princess tired?" Lance cooed. Lalia frowned at him and stretched.

"Let me sleep Swordfish." she grunbled.

"Fine by me, Flounder." Lance added as he made his way towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Keith asked suddenly, not sure why he asked. Lance looked back at him with a confused expression before smirking.

"Surfing." With that, Lance left the room. Lalia looked at Keith, Keith at Lalia. She looked to the floor guilty.

"I'm sorry about earlier today.. I've been so stressed that I thought a beer would help, but I went a bit over the top. I'm sorry I'm messed up." Lalia whispered. Keith's face softened, even if he didn't like Lalia romantically, he still loved her platonically.

"It's alright, but promise not to drink anymore?" Keith asked.

"I promise, thank you Keith."

Both of the teens changed and went to sleep with Lalia's arm wrapped around Keith's waist.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you everyone for the support so far! It's a lot for my little soul *clenches heart*

Keith felt the gentle sun on his face and heard the silent breathing of someone as he was led to conscience. He cracked open his eyes and was greeted with the sight of cracks racing each other on the storm gray ceiling. He groaned and sat up as his brain started to work. Lalia turned over and resumed snoring. Keith carefully slipped out of bed and went upstairs. No one was there so Keith assumed that either they were still sleeping or they were at work. He saw a coffee on the table with a note by it. He picked it up and instantly recognized the handwriting:

 _Thought you'd be tired. It's your favorite, black coffee :) -Takashi_

He smiled and took a sip. It was cold, but Keith appreciated it. Warmth would just make him sleepy again. He sat down at the table and looked out the window as silence reigned on.

It wasn't quiet for long.

A sudden, shrill scream pierced Keith's ears, and not soon after, the jubilant laughter of two people combined with the patter of racing feet on stairs. The source of laughter soon revealed to be none other than Lance and Matt with a trickster gleam in their eyes. Lance winked at Keith before he and Matt escaped outside. A second set of feet soon followed, and Keith saw it was Shiro, pale and obviously pissed off.

"Where the hell are they?" Shiro asked Keith who turned a pointed look to the window. Shiro nodded his thanks and raced outside. Keith heard the yelling of Shiro and the laughter of Lance and Matt. He smiled and took another sip of his coffee.

It was just like he and Shiro had never fallen out to begin with.

Shiro reentered with Lance and Matt, still looking ever the pranksters.

"So.. care to explain?" Keith asked.

"I'm sure Matt can." Shiro growled, the said adult smiled cheekily.

"I engineered a spider a couple years back for the sole purpose of pranking Shiro in the mornings. Lance caught wind and helps out by tickling Shiro's feet and throwing fake cobwebs around the arachnophobic." Matt said with the ever present trickster gleam. Shiro glared at Matt.

"How'd you find out about it?" Keith asked, grinning as well.

"Oh, Shiro was drunk and screamed when he saw a spider. So Matt and I put two and two together and this happened." Lance jutted in. Keith laughed and Shiro shook his head, mumbling profanities in Japanese.

Lance discovered that Keith's laugh was cute.

Like, _really_ cute.

So cute, Lance wanted to die to save himself from it.

After a minute of standing around awkwardly, Shiro grumbled something about going back to sleep, Matt dashed off to probably annoy Pidge, and Keith sat at the table again. Lance took a seat opposite from him.

"Hey." Lance said softly. Keith smiled at Lance.

"Good morning. How'd you sleep?" Keith asked, taking a sip. Lance smiled.

"Pretty good. I had fun surfing."

"You promised you'd show me."

"I will be true to my promise young child."

"Child?"

"As far as I'm concerned you still don't know a lot of Spanish _and_ you don't know how to surf."

" _Piensa otra vez._ " Lance froze up, staring at Keith. The latter looked inquisitively at Lance, " _Tierra a Lance_?"

"H-How?" Lance stammered. Keith smiled at the Cuban.

"Lalia taught me some basic Spanish before we came here." Keith looked away, "I think she really wanted you guys to approve of me." Lance looked out the window and the two teens were silent for a moment.

"Yep.. she's like that."

"Yeah."

Keith took another sip of his coffee and Lance looked at the trees gently swaying in the breeze.

This was nice.

Soon enough, everyone woke up. Antonio and Esperanza with their kids came to the kitchen first and greeted Keith and Lance with a 'good morning.' Keith smiled back and took another sip of coffee, he was almost out of it. Their son came and sat by Keith.

"Hola." Keith greeted. The boy scowled at Keith.

"I can speak English." he returned in perfect English.

"Ah. Sorry, but what's your name again?"

"Alejandro Sanchez. I'm eight. You're Keith, Tia Lalia's girlfriend. Why do you have a man's name if you're a girl?" Keith's coffee came racing out as he comprehended what Alejandro just asked. Lance had heard and was doubled over, laughing his head off. Antonio looked at his son is horror while Esperanza giggled in amusement. Alessandra was looking at everyone weirdly, wondering why they were laughing.

"Well.. you see.. I'm a man." Keith stuttered out.

"No you aren't, you have long hair." Alejandro returned, Lance shrieked of laughter and leaned on the table for support.

"Alejandro!" Antonio barked at his son.

"No, it's fine Antonio, I'm used to it." Keith said, pulling his hair back into a ponytail, "Is this better?" Alejandro studied Keith's face and nodded.

"Now you look like a man, _hermano._ " Everyone laughed and Keith let his hair drop.

"Glad to hear it." Keith said, smiling.

" _Buenos dias idiotas_." greeted another voice, and Keith saw it was Nicolas Sanchez.

" _Cierra tu trampa._ " Antonio shot back. Nicolas scowled at his older brother.

" _¿Dónde está Jimena?_ " Esperanza asked her brother-in-law.

Nicolas sighed, "Work."

"How? I thought she didn't have a job here." Lance asked.

"No, her law firm is making her track down some evidence for this Cuban guy's case. They decided to take advantage of the fact that she's in his homeland or whatever."

"Where are the twins? Sleeping?" Lance asked. Nicolas nodded, "And where are Alex and Sofia? I didn't see them upstairs."

"Alex and Sofia are in an accelerated tutoring class for their studies." Esperanza said as she chopped onions.

"What?" Lance asked.

"Alex is studying senior material, Sofia is doing seventh grade material." Esperanza explained as she slid the onions into a frying pan.

"Wow. When did this happen?"

"Sofia started a while ago, Alex started last year."

"That's good to hear." Keith stood up and put his mug in the sink. The door of the basement opened to reveal a still half-asleep Hunk and Shay, accompanied by a very pissed off Pidge with a still very mischievous Matt.

"Good morning Sanchez family!" Matt yelled as Shiro and Allura came down the stairs.

"Matt, when are you not loud?" Shiro asked as he slid a hand down his face. Matt smirked and winked at him.

"When I'm not alive and instead lying in the cold ground will I be silent."

"Or you know, when someone decides to murder you." Pidge muttered. Everyone laughed at the snarky teen.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was to be you." Lance smiled. Pidge's expression softened and Keith looked closer to find a touch of pink on the teen's cheeks.

"Yeah.. guess you wouldn't." Keith quickly stomped out the jealousy that threatened to come flying out his mouth. _Patience yields focus_ , he thought.

"Well, I'm going to need Shay and Hunk's help with the food, Lance can you wake up Lalia? Alejandro and Nicolas, set up the table." Esperanza commanded, holding a similar tone to her mother-in-law. Keith watched as the family scrambled off to do everything they were told to do. Antonio gave Alejandro plates while Nicolas retrieved the correct amount of forks. Lance had disappeared down into the basement while Shay and Hunk busied themselves making food. Keith and Pidge looked at each other.

"Hey." Pidge greeted.

"Morning." Keith returned.

"Keith, can you make some coffee?" Shiro asked.

"Sure!" Keith replied, then realizing he didn't know where the coffee was asked, "Where's the coffee maker and the actual coffee?"

"Ask Pidge!" Shiro called out as he entered the bathroom. Keith looked at Pidge, she smiled.

"Feel like harassing my brother to reveal where he snuck the coffee?"

And harass him they did. Apparently, Matt steals the coffee every year and hides it in ridiculous locations. Last year, it was buried in the garden and the year before, it was in the mango tree outside. This year it was in the vacuum cleaner. Pidge grumbled as she opened the vacuum and Keith extracted the dusty package.

"At least he makes sure it's protected." Keith noted as he brushed off the dust that had stuck to the plastic protector wrapped around it. Pidge snorted.

"Only because a Shiro with no coffee is a death sentence." Pidge said as she closed the vacuum. Keith remembered the mornings when Shiro was a stressed out mess after all-nighters and how he would zoom to the coffee maker.

"That much I remember." Keith said and Pidge put away the vacuum.

"Ready to save the lives of millions?"

"Roger that."

Sanchez breakfasts were loud too. Keith was starting to associate the Sanchez family with the warning 'danger: loud noise.' All living beings in the house were in the dining room, eating the omelet Esperanza and Shay had cooked with the hash browns Hunk had made. It was delicious to say in the least.

"Mm! This is so good Hunk!" Lance called out as he took a bit of his hash browns. The Hawaiian smiled at the Cuban.

"Not too much pepper?" Hunk asked.

"Dude, give him the whole bottle. He needs more spice in his bland memes." Lalia taunted, jabbing her fork in Hunk's direction.

"Lalia!" Lance gasped, holding a dramatic hand over his heart. Keith snickered while Pidge, Matt, Shiro, and Allura laughed. However, the laughter stopped as a knock interrupted the joyful clatter of breakfast. Everyone quieted as Nicolas answered the door.

"You dick! What are you doing here?" Nicolas yelled. Keith looked at everyone's expression of shock and anger. Lance's face was snow white pale.

"Is it that bad I want to talk to Lance?" said a silky smooth voice, taught with anger.

"Yes, you lying, two-faced son of a bitch!" Nicolas returned and Lance stood up.

"Nicolas, I'll talk to the moron." Lance yelled and approached the door. Nicolas looked at Lance, shook his head, and flipped the birdie at the male outside the door. The younger Cuban walked out the door and closed it behind him. The house was silent as Lance talked to the male. Keith looked out the window as he saw a long, white-haired male conversing with Lance. The Cuban was obviously pissed off at the male and the male in question was ignoring the obvious decline Lance was giving him. After a few minutes of this, Lance flipped him off and went back inside. After locking the door, he ran downstairs to the basement. The room slowly resumed talking, but Keith deposited his plate and ran after Lance. When he reached the room Lance was in, Keith tried to open the door, but found it locked. He gently rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Lance?" Keith called softly. He heard rustling and a click as the door opened to reveal a tear-streaked Lance, "Hey man." Lance's eyes pooled again and the brunet let the tears fall.

"I-I'm sorry.. I feel so messed up right now.." he said. Without thinking, Keith placed a gentle hand on Lance's cheek and wiped away the tears that fell. Lance looked at Keith in shock, and Keith looked at his traitor of a hand. _Shit._ He started to move his hand away from Lance's gorgeous face, but another hand kept it there.

A hand darker than his own.

"It's okay." Lance whispered and gently stroked the back of Keith's hand with his own thumb. Lance slowly leaned into Keith and wrapped his arm around him. Keith returned the embrace and leaned into Lance.

"I bet you're curious to hear about that guy." Lance whispered.

"From what I hear he's a bitch." Keith said, which caused a ripple of laughter from Lance. Keith's heart warmed at the sound.

"Come on in and I'll tell you." Lance said, breaking the embrace. Keith's arms felt cold without someone there. The two teens entered the room and sat down on the bed. Keith studied Lance's face as Lance looked at the ceiling.

"That was Lotor Galrian, my ex-boyfriend. We met sophomore year of high school and we started to date not too long afterwards. To me, he was my lifeline, the stone that kept me in place. To him.. I was nothing." Lance's voice broke, but he continued, "He would always promise me that he would change, but he never did. Not in the way I wanted him too. He just became so much more angrier and started to verbally abuse me. Luckily, Lalia caught wind and made me break up with him." Lance's expression hardened, "I found out after we broke up that he was cheating on me with one of his friends the whole damn relationship. We didn't talk again till senior year when he told me he missed me."

"And?"

"I told him to go fuck himself and I left the room. Clearly, he didn't get the memo."

"That's for sure." Keith and Lance looked at the ceiling for a moment.

"Do you have any exes?" Lance asked. Keith smiled sadly at Lance's question.

"Nope. Lalia's the first, I've had crushes and whatnot but it never really went deeper."

"How'd you guys meet?"

"In my writing class, we had a group project and she was in my group," Keith shook his head, "Man, she's terrible at meeting due dates." Lance laughed.

"That sounds like her. During high school, I was always making sure she turned everything in."

"On the flip side, her writing is beautiful. So it's kinda worth it."

Lance smiled at Keith, "What did you write for the project?" Keith looked curiously at Lance.

"I wrote about two boys who fell in love during a war," Keith looked away, "It's a play." Lance sat up and grinned.

"Keith, I just had a thought. I think you'll love it."

Keith laughed at Lance's eager expression.

"Tell me then."

A/N: i finISHED ANOTHER CHAPTERR

YAYYY

Alright so I think my update schedule is probably going to be every Saturday/Sunday since I write during the week and edit on weekends.

This is out on Monday since I saw the Script recently and wtF? THEY'RE SO MUCH BETTER IN CONCERT? LIKE BQSHBIEJREY so good.

Also, I send out my sympathies to anyone in the Las Vegas attacks or if you have someone who was in the attacks. If you or any loved ones were in the hurricanes, I hope you're doing well. I know it's a lot for anyone to be in just one but one day everything will be better.

Yeah I suck at motivational messages.

Have a good week everyone!


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: I want to thank everyone for the favorites, follows, subscriptions, kudos, and comments! Each message brings a smile to my face and just aa thank you!

Also, sorry for the late update. This past week has been a series of all-nighters so I can study so b

Enjoy some more dorks~!

"Lance, this was a terrible idea!" Keith exclaimed as Lance laughed at the teen's misery.

"Y-You're doing great for a beginner." Lance assured Keith when he calmed down. Keith groaned.

"We should let Hunk or Shiro do it."

"No thank you. As much as I love Hunk, he doesn't feel right in this role. Shiro is older and there is no way I'm kissing him when I know Allura will hate me afterwards."

"Does the great Lance Sanchez actually have boundaries?"

"Oh yes he does." Lance sighed, "Now let's talk about your acting. You're acting like yourself on the stage."

"So?"

"When you act, you need to shed yourself. Keith Kogane can't even try to approach the stage. Alex needs to, he needs to be up to making love to Fyrr!" Keith smiled and rolled his eyes.

"That's not even in the script."

Lance smirked, "A crying shame it isn't."

Keith's face went red and he sprinted into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He slid down to the floor and out his head in his hands. _Did that really just happen? I shouldn't be so delighted in that, I have a girlfriend for Christ's sake!_ A small part of his brain told him it wasn't so bad, after all he hates Lalia. Keith curled up even tighter as tears started to fall down his cheek, was he such a terrible person to want Lance? Lance, who made him feel good inside and who flirted with him. It was hilarious that one person could make him feel this way while the person who he had been with for six months never even made him smile in love. A cautious, gentle knock sounded.

"Keith?" Lance's gentle voice whispered. Keith wiped off his tears.

"Hi." Keith said. The Korean could've sworn he heard Lance sigh in relief.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't thinking. If you don't want to be Alex, I get it." Keith closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Maybe he should tell Lance about his... dilemma.

"It's not that." Keith heard some rustling on the other side.

"Then what is?"

"Lance.. I'm-"

"Guys! I heard you dorks were doing a recreation of Keith's script!" a cheery voice yelled. Keith quickly stood up and checked his face in the mirror. He looked okay, he opened the door and was about to rush out.

You can imagine how surprised he was when he was met with the floor instead.

"Shit! Keith, are you okay?" Lance asked, frantically checking Keith's body for broken bones. Keith laughed and stood up. He smiled at the worried Cuban.

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not. Bloody nose." Lance stated, grabbing a towel and putting it under Keith's nose. Keith saw Lalia on that stairs and smiling at Lance's care for her boyfriend. Keith waved half-heartedly.

"Anyway, I read Keith's script beforehand and I'd like Kisa. She was my favorite female character." Lalia said, entering the room fully, "What part did Lance get?"

"I got Fyrr, Keith here got Alex." Lance told Lalia, still heavy from the recent events. Lalia looked at Keith dubiously.

"Those two are gay correct? I mean, I'm fine if you guys kiss on stage if that's in script." she said, Keith wanted to kiss her right then.

"You'd be okay with that?" Keith asked, double-checking with the female. She nodded, but held a finger up.

"But I get Kisa." Keith nodded and smiled. Keith saw Lance with a smile on his face.

"Well, you want to get the whole crew here?" Lance asked.

"Let's do it."

Everyone entered the room with varying degrees of excitement. Shiro and Allura seemed like they would explode with excitement as they read over the script. Pidge was calmer as she read over the script with Hunk and Shay.

"Alright!" Lance yelled over the noise and everyone stopped talking, "So Keith over here will be casting as he sees fit. Everyone give it up for your director, Keith Kogane!" Keith shook his head as everyone laughed and lightly clapped.

"Alright, so. I've been thinking and I'd like Shay as General Melhoff with Hunk as her husband." —the couple smiled at each other— "Shiro as the priest and Allura as his wife. Pidge will be Emi, Matt will be casted as the narrator." The group started to highlight lines and Keith was relieved at the lack of protest. He had tried to cast everyone with a role they'd be happy with, and it seemed to have worked.

"Where do we start?" Shiro asked when he finished highlighting the last of his lines. Keith smiled.

"From the top."

"I choose you Fyrr. Never would I choose Kisa to be rid of you!" Keith exclaimed as he clutched Lance's face with both hands. Lance's face was beautiful, just on the edge of crying. He was a ridiculously good actor.

"I love you Alex. Say it to me, please, I need your reassurance!" Lance exclaimed, placing a gentle hand over Keith's.

"I love you Fyrr. There is no other way to say otherwise." Keith leaned into Lance and placed his lips on top of Lance's. _Shit, his lips are soft._ Lance returned the kiss by lightly pressing back. After a few seconds of each teen savoring the kiss, they broke apart.

"Come now, we need to leave if you are to get to safety." Shiro said and the trio left the "stage". Everyone applauded for themselves and Lance whooped.

"We made it through one successful read through!" Lalia exclaimed, squeezing Pidge who laughed at the older teen's excitement. After five hours of direct rehearsals, the whole crew was exhausted and all had their lines memorized to some degree.

"What should we do to celebrate?" Allura asked.

"We should go to that pizza place by the beach!" Lance exclaimed, Lalia groaned.

"Lance, we've been there so many times!" Lance stuck his tongue out at his twin.

"Eh, I'm going anyway. Not like we'll be eating pineapple pizza."

Everyone ended up going anyway.

A/N: this is legit 1003 words

it's a little filler before the real shit begins

hehHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

Have a great [unit of passing time]!


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey everyone, it's been really hard to get around to writing this chapter. I was busy with Halloween and tests and to top it all off, my cat passed away on November 1st, 2017. She was run over by a car and she wasn't even a year old.

I hope she's in a better place without any idiots to run her over.

/

Everyone left the pizza shack with ongoing jovial conversations and a wide smile. Lance was having fun giving Pidge a piggy back ride, whose face was bright red and lit up with a smile. Keith was walking by Lalia, hand in her hand. Lalia sighed.

"Keith, do you think we're broken?" she asked. Keith, startled by the sudden question, nearly tripped but quickly regained his balance. He looked at Lalia's quivering lips as she repeated her question, "Are we?"

"I.. well the truth might hurt, Lalia. Do you really want to hear it?" he asked. Lalia stopped which made Keith stop as well.

"We're broken." she whispered, testing the words.

"We're broken." Keith agreed, sliding his hands into his pockets, "It's my fault we're like this anyway." Lalia shook her head, denying everything Keith was saying to her.

"Why Keith, why?" Lalia asked, tears now free falling down her cheeks and onto the ground, "Why do you always run away the moment a challenge presents itself? Why are you so goddamn afraid of love? You're the jewel of my life Keith, and yet, you can't shine enough for me. You are always lying to my face, so why Keith? Why do you always fucking lie?"

"Lalia-" Keith reached for Lalia before his hand was smacked down.

"No! No more. No more saying my name like you mean it, no more trying to hide the goddamn truth from me! You are a selfish bitch Keith Kogane! You forfeit everything we did and the life we were going to make together! I hate you!" she screamed at Keith. The Korean could only watch as tears started to race down her cheeks, almost like a competition to see who could hit the ground the fastest. Keith watched as Lalia ran in an opposite direction.

He only watched as she ran away from him.

/

Keith caught up with the group after a couple seconds of running. He didn't want to think about anything at all. _Don't think about Lalia. Don't think about what she said. Don't think about it._ He reached the group and stuck to the back of the group.

 _"You are a selfish bitch Keith Kogane!"_ She had looked so _angry,_ like Keith was the worst person she knew. Which wasn't far off from the truth. Keith and Lalia were both exhausted by their relationship, something that a healthy relationship shouldn't do.

But what about when Lalia _was_ happy?

Her smile, did Keith really want to take that from her? She had called him the _jewel of her life._

 _"Keith, Keith, Keith." Lalia said, jumping on Keith's bed, he groaned and turned around. However, Lalia started shaking him again, "Keith, Keith, Keith."_

 _"What?" the Korean groaned. Lalia grinned._

 _"N_ _eoneun nae insaeng-ui boseog-iya._ _" Lilia purred. Keith smiled sadly._

 _"Nega naege deo manh-eun geos-eul uimihaess-eumyeon johgessda." Keith replied; Lalia looked at him inquisitively, but both of them said nothing._

 _It was sweet nothings to one, and the world to another._

Keith was startled by a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Shiro, with a smile on his face.

"What?" Keith demanded. Shiro burst out in laughter.

"You almost ran into a pole Kīsu! I'm starting to think your navigation skills are as bad as Dad's." Shiro wheezed. Keith felt a smile tug at him, and he laughed as well.

Thank god he had his brother.

/

Lance cast a glance to where Keith and Shiro walked, conversing and laughing. Pidge had gotten off his back and thanked Lance with a red face. He had smiled and gave Pidge a pat on her shoulder. Allura then had stepped next to Lance and the two were walking in comfortable silence.

"Lance." Allura sighed.

"What?" Lance asked, surprised at her sudden vocalization.

"You keep looking at Keith." the dark-skinned female teased Lance, who blushed bright red.

"W-What? No I don't! I just happen-" Lance groaned and put his head in his hands, "Yes, I'm staring at him." Allura giggled at Lance's slow decline into demise by Keith.

"He is something. He has so many accomplishments and when he's not pissy he's by far one of the most amazing people I've ever met." she looked to Lance, "He's a wild card."

He sighed, "A wild card that's quite taken." Allura sighed as well.

"Taki and I had the same problem." Lance tipped his gaze to her direction.

"Do tell." She chuckled and shook her head.

"If you insist-"

"I didn't."

"Haha Lance," Allura continued, "I was in a relationship with Matt when we met. Matt had made me happy, but I felt like we weren't meant to function. Then, Takashi walks into the room and suddenly I find myself tripping over myself to make him notice me. Matt took note and pushed me in his direction.

"After we both recovered, Matt and I talked it out, and honestly? He and I decided we were better as friends. Because of it, Matt is one of the dearest friends I have. The fact that he's able to put the past behind and continue on, that's so hard to do. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if we had never gotten together," she placed a hand on Lance's shoulder, "I know this is a mess, but I swear to you Lance, one way of another, you will find peace." Lance felt a wave of gratitude for his cousin. She was wise right when he needed something to follow, to help him.

It was impossible to not love someone like her. People always fawned over her, _the daughter of Alfor, the niece of Coran, the girlfriend of Shirogane._ Something that never bothered her as well as something she never took to heart. Shiro was lucky to have her, Matt too for that matter.

"How's the new movie coming along?" Lance asked.

Allura shook her head, "Terrible. My director hates me, and the script is terrible. At least I'm a minor character."

Lance nudged Allura with his shoulder, "Minor enough to not be featured?"

Allura wrinkled her nose, "I would hate to be featured in a movie like that."

Lance laughed, "What's it about?"

"It's a story about two people who find each other at their workplace and then the guy goes on this work thing. He's gone for a while, so the girl falls in love with someone else; the rest of the movie's about how he tries to win her back."

"So, basically every stereotypical romance movie?"

"Yep."

"And why did you accept?"

Allura pouted, "They made it seem interesting." Lance barked in laughter.

"That's the point of marketing, Allura."

"Then how is your almighty and wonderful life, O mighty Lance?"

"Eh, it's okay I guess. The Garrison is brutal, I'm definitely not looking forward to going back. Although, I'll be studying under Mr. Monticello again, so little bonus."

"The same one with the thing against Oreos?"

"I don't know where he gets it from."

"Mm, I heard his room smelled like Oreos for a month or so. A smell one can grow tired of."

"It was a chemistry experiment gone bad! Besides, his room smelled like carrots. You could taste it!"

"I'm surprised Mr. Monticello didn't suspend you."

"He was a little annoyed but all in all chill."

"After you bought him coffee everyday for a month?"

"It was a peace offering."

"An offering that took quite a long time to have an effect."

"Shush, it worked out in the end."

"Keep lying to yourself."

"I never said I did it."

"Sure thing."

"Indeed, I have no idea where you got the idea that I ever did it."

"Totally not because you told me the day it happened begging me for a solution."

"Yep, very not."

"Very not."

"Indeed." The cousins walked on in a comfortable silence until they reached the house where Lance took in a breath.

"You know what I miss us doing?"

"What?" Allura asked inquisitively.

"Catching fireflies and making up names for them."

Allura giggled, "How many Carlos fireflies did we have again?"

Lance scowled, "I really liked that name, okay? It's better then Spinny."

"Spinny is a wonderful name!"

Lance and Allura laughed and sat down on the porch, waiting for the fireflies to peek out of the grass. The pink that had tickled the grass beforehand now slowly went to sleep and darkened to a purple. The orange sky was slowly receding and making way for the stars and the bright red sun slowly laid down to rest.

Finally, the first glimmer ventured into the sky.

/

Shiro and Keith were sentenced to dishes. Well not really sentenced, Shiro volunteered and Keith somehow got swept along. Shiro washed and Keith dried, it reminded him of when he and Shiro were in middle school and their mom made them do chores so she could sleep.

"Keith, we need to talk." Shiro said, turning off the sink. Keith looked away as he felt his brother's gaze on him.

"About what?" Keith murmured. Shiro sighed.

"I missed you in college. You can't even ima-" Keith snapped and everything started to come tumbling out.

"Don't you even dare Shiro. You, the only person who kept me stable, left the house like it was nothing. Like I didn't even mean anything to you! You left me and mom alone with my own dad, the same one who broke my arm because he wanted to teach me a lesson."

"Keith-"

"I'm not fucking done! When mom divorced him, I thought that it was the end of it and you'd come home, but no! Shiro needed to stay an extra two years to finish up his degree. You never came home when I needed you the most. So no Shiro, you can't say you missed me when you abandoned me and mom!"

"Keith! You're assigning me too much blame here! You didn't seem to care for your brother who came to clean you up after every single time you got in a fight, or the brother that helped you when you didn't understand something. Keith, I was ready to do something with myself and yet, you won't let me! You never called and god knows you never even tried to understand! Now, I come back to find my brother, who I understood was gay, in a relationship with one of my good friends. So I don't know Keith, who's really at fault here?"

"I called you! Instead I was met with a text of 'Hey Keith, sorry I missed your call, I'll call you tomorrow! I love you very much.' You want to know the worst part? I never got that call back."

"Now you're just being selfish, I was on a date with Allura. I was actually building myself up so I could come home and see you. Some of us don't have an infinite supply of money!"

"Crying shame you don't. You might've been able to help your brother before he got into a broken relationship."

"Then why did you accept? Why did you say that you wanted to be with someone who won't make you happy?"

"Because there was a hole in my soul that everyone seems to keep expanding. They're just dying to make it bigger."

"So Lalia was the best way to fill it?"

"I don't know!" Keith started to cry, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't _know_. I'm sick and tired of people leaving me; I don't need another person to trod me in the dust." The silence that accompanied the end of his words was grueling and slow. The only thing that filled it was Keith's quiet sobs, and soon enough Shiro's as well.

"I'm sorry." Keith's eyes widened as he looked at his brother's teary eyes, "I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me."

"I'm sorry for not understanding you and your actions."

The two embraced each other and held each other in silence.

"I forgive you. Just, please try to let down Lalia easy when you and Lance hook up, okay? Then, I don't think I'd forgive you then."

"Wh-What?!"

"Don't think I let those longing glances slide by. He's a nice guy, you'll be happy with him."

"Shiro!"

"Seriously, do you promise?"

"Fine, baka."

"Hey!"

Keith and Shiro broke away from each other and went back to doing the dishes, "What are Lance and Allura doing on the porch?"

Shiro smiled, "They catch fireflies and name them. It's what they did when they were young to make up for the lost time."

"It reminds me of the time when we watched the sparrows and named them."

"You named them so many of them 'Sparrow.' Very creative."

"It's better than naming them 'Kasshoku.'"

"Well. The name fit, they were the appropriate color."

"Indeed."

"Very much so."

Keith felt the hole in his chest start to grow smaller.

His brother had forgiven him.

/

A/N: Yeah, I'll probably update again on Sunday.

If you ever fall out with a sibling, just talk it out. They'll be ready to forgive if you show that you want it.

Trust me 3

Also we got some smut coming up ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I'll put a warning don't worry.

Neoneun nae insaeng-ui boseog-iya.: You're the jewel of my life

Nega naege deo manh-eun geos-eul uimihaess-eumyeon johgessda.: I wish you meant more to me friend.

Baka: idiot

Kasshoku: Brown


	8. Chapter 7

Okay my mental health is just slowly kinda swishing down the drain

I have so many exams and papers and sadhiuch

I DON'T HAVE TIME FF

That being said, I probably won't be sticking to weekly updates because my mental health would probably deteriorate. So I'll be updating whenever I have a new chapter.

Lalia didn't know what time it was. It could've been two or three, but she couldn't care less. She stared at the water in front of her. The beach was what had calmed Lance when he broke up with Lotor. The sea foam curled as it hit the shore. She recalled Lance's teary eyes, his broken expression, the way it looked like his entire world was just ripped from his hands. Which wouldn't be too far from the truth. She hated Lotor for what he did to her twin. She remembered pitying Lance, if only she had seen she would feel the same way in a couple of years. Another wave collided with the shore and Lalia imagined Keith going with it. Did she really mean to say what she said? Did Keith really deserve what she said? He had looked so shocked, but there was another emotion she couldn't place.

Would she be wrong if she said it had to do something with Lance?

Lalia didn't want to think about what those two might've been doing when she wasn't in the room. Images of a naked Keith sucking off a naked Lance flooded her brain, she curled up even tighter. Maybe she didn't hate Keith, maybe she was afraid of him and the power he had over her. On the other hand, maybe she wasn't. Wasn't she too at fault for not trusting her boyfriend? Was it natural for her to not trust anyone, including those she let close to her heart? Was it because she didn't want what had happened to Lance? His pain was unimaginable, to have someone who you loved, who you trusted, betray you and leave you without a second word.

Lance had described it as catcalling. One moment it appears that they want you, and the next they've slapped you and left you to bleed in the dust.

 _"Dust? Isn't it dirt?"_

 _Lance laughed dryly, "You wish. When someone leaves you, they leave you the remnants of all that you had. It's not dirt since that's substantial, it's dust. Easily destroyed and easily swept up."_

Is that what she meant to Keith? He didn't seem like the type to play with someone's emotions but then again, who knew? Lalia buried her face into her hands and let out a sob.

 _He loves me, he loves me not.._

 _/_

Lance stared at the text on his phone.

 _Meet me outside or I will break in._

Lance growled at his ex's threat. The _coward_ , not even daring to approach him when there were others around. Lance chucked his phone across the room and ran outside to the shed and grabbed his paddle and surfboard. Not the best boat but they would do.

He needed to run away for a night.

/

Keith woke up groggy the next morning. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments before he noticed a light snoring that filled the room. Keith shot up and looked beside him not to see any feminine figure, but on the floor there was a being sleeping soundly. Keith ran a hand through his black hair and stared at the wall.

He slipped off the bed and went upstairs. When Keith entered the kitchen, he felt warm arms envelop him. Startled, he tensed and remained as so till the arms removed themselves. Keith was greeted with the smiling face of Shiro.

"Do you have to be so cuddly so early in the morning?" Keith groaned, he heard laughter and realized that they weren't alone.

"It's literally ten in the morning Keith." Shiro responded, smirking and moving next to the source of the laughter, Allura.

"It is quite funny that you two are exact opposites of each other." Allura commented as Shiro handed Keith a cup of coffee.

"I'm pretty sure I got the short end of the stick with him." Keith muttered, sipping his coffee. Shiro shook his head in disappointment. The door to the basement swung open to reveal Matt and Pidge having a debate.

"There is no way that would be a good thing Pidge!" Matt said exasperated.

"But just think! All the new services we could provide if it was coded!" Pidge exclaimed as Matt beelined to the coffee.

"But connecting everyone would make it easier to hack."

"They'd be easier to trace then."

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked and the siblings stopped talking, as if they just realized that there were other human beings in the room.

"While we're on the subject of your presence, good morning to you too." Shiro said, continuing to read the newspaper. _Where did he get that?_ Keith absent-mindedly thought.

"Good morning company!" yelled another voice, Keith looked up to see Nicolas coming out of the living room. Muffled yelling in Spanish from the living room was the first announcement of the pillow to the back of Nicolas's head. "Luciana!" Nicolas rubbed the back of his head while glaring at the living room's general direction.

"Is it usually so loud in the mornings? I thought they were quieter before you all got here." grumbled a voice on the opposite side of the room, Keith recognized the voice to be Valentina. Alex came down the stairs as well looking very pissed off.

"Nicolas, I needed another hour of sleep but no! You just had to wake me up at eight in the morning!" Alex yelled as Nicolas rubbed the back of his head, probably still smarting from the pillow. Wailing sounded from a bedroom and Nicolas ran towards where his family's room was.

"Poor Nicolas, must be hard having twins." Shiro said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Poor Allura, must be hard having Shiro as a boyfriend." Keith muttered. Allura threw back her head and laughed. Shiro gave Keith an exasperated expression. Keith shrugged and someone sat across from him. A hand slammed down on the table, Keith noticed it was Antonio's.

"How did you get in here?" the man snarled. Keith looked at the other male and noticed the same white hair that belonged to Lotor Galrian. Last time Lotor was here, Keith wasn't able to get a good glimpse of him but now he wondered if this was the hated teen. The-person-who-might-be-Lotor smirked.

"Am I not allowed to?" came his silky smooth response. An uppercut aimed to his jaw hit its target dead on. Keith's knuckles smarted and he realized it was him who had aimed it. Lotor groaned and clutched his jaw.

"Get out." Antonio growled, "The welcome you have here has been demonstrated by Keith." Lotor growled at Antonio and in turn looked at Keith with a murderous intention in his eyes. Then he smirked and waltzed out of the room without a response. The basement door smelled open and Hunk emerged, on the edge on pure panic.

"Lalia and Lance are gone!" he yelled.

The house erupted into panic and confusion.


	9. Chapter 8

_Hey remember me?_

 _YEAH IM BACK_

 _Good news: MY MENTAL HEALTH IS NOW OFFICIALLY STABLE YEEEET_

 _What does this mean? It means that I can write more without absolutely dying!_

 _Hahaha in all good seriousness, I missed you guys! Now I understand if I lost a few readers but I'm hoping I can get them back._

 _**Warning: Mentions of Parental Abuse, Mentions of Underage Drinking, Depression*_

"Lance! Please stop hiding and tell us where you are!" Hunk called out to the street. They had woken up everyone in the house and the neighbors surrounding the Sanchez house. Keith, Shay, and Hunk had decided to take the road that led to the beach while Pidge and Matt took the other road. Shiro and Allura had gone to Lance's mentor's surf shop to see if he had taken refuge there. Valentina and Alex were going to Lalia's friends to see if she had fled there. The rest of the Sanchez family were looking all over the house as well as any other locations where the twins might've gone. Antonio had gone to report Lotor for entering his house, but everyone knew that he was going to see if he could assemble a search party to look for his younger siblings.

"Lalia! We're all very worried for you!" Shay called out, Keith kept a keen eye for any movement as well as eyeing any passing pedestrians. He got the middle finger a lot from men and a couple of blushes from women. That wasn't the point of his meandering eye and a couple of times he felt the need to yell at the foolish, incompetent men and women. Hunk and Shay kept a careful eye on him. Keith had told the whole family his argument with Lalia, he had gotten some angry glances and a couple of disappointed ones, but no one seemed ready to murder him.

Which he suspected wouldn't last.

 _"I've always looked up to my brother." Laila said. Keith looked up from his Psychology textbook to look at her. Her head was propped in her hand and she was looking out the window thoughtfully. Keith noticed that she was on a page about philia, platonic love._

 _"How so?" Keith asked when she didn't continue her thought. Lalia smiled at a distant figure._

 _"He's been this charismatic figure in my life for as long as I can remember. Always talking smooth with the ladies and my mom's friends, everyone knew that Lance was Mami's favorite child. Not even Antonio could compete, and he was the first out of the house with a wife and everything. I remember Lance bringing home a girl once and saying 'Mami, this is the girl of my dreams.' They were only in seventh grade so Mami just laughed and treated the girl to a cup of tea and a couple of mango slices. We never saw that girl again although Lance always talked about her._

 _"Oh and Lance's confidence? It's out of this world. He came home another night in eighth grade with his hair all tousled and lips swollen. At dinner time, he stood up on a chair and yelled for all of us to hear, 'I kissed a boy and I liked it. I'm bisexual.' Then he sat back down and resumed eating as if nothing had happened. It took months for my family to understand what bisexual meant. I understood perfectly well what he meant, and I always had the feeling Valentina did too. Mami and Papi took a bit longer, but in the end they accepted him._

 _"Then there was high school. Lance was at his prime: intelligent, suave, and gorgeous. He had a couple of girlfriends and boyfriends here and there, but when he met Lotor, I have a feeling that everything just clicked into place for him. Of course, it was never to last. After Lotor left, Lance fell into a state of disrepair. I did everything I could to make sure he didn't fall so low where he couldn't get back up anymore." Lalia rested her head in her hands, tears winking in the light, "Keith, I felt pleased he was in this state. I felt so happy since my brother, this person I'd always looked up to, was now broken on the ground. I was afraid - still am- of this side of me." Keith rested a hand on her shoulder as she cried, tears staining the word philia printed in New Times Roman, point 12 font._

Keith felt sorry for Lalia, it wasn't her fault that her brother was the kind of person he was. However, Keith also admired Lalia's ability to recognize her jealousy as well her ability to still love her brother despite it. Keith sighed, remembering his own argument with Shiro this morning. He just wished that life would be nice enough and go right for him instead of wrong.

 _"Not even 24 hours have passed and you've already broken your word." Shiro had looked so angry with his fists clenching, Keith could've sworn he saw sparks fly from Shiro's prosthetic. Keith looked away. When he told Shiro about Laila's running off, Keith was scared of the progress that was made would be lost._

 _"It's my fault, okay? She asked me if we were broken and I said yes. We are broken." Keith muttered through clenched teeth. He was tired of being interrogated by every single person in this household. The disappointed expressions just made it worse._

 _"Keith, I told you Lalia is troubled. The fact that you didn't even try to repair your relationship with her in the last God knows how many hours, really says something. Do you even love this girl? It can be platonic for all I care."_

 _"I really don't know Shiro. Have you ever stopped to consider my side? I've been in this broken relationship for a couple of months and I was the one having to deal with her drunk self. I tried to do whatever I could but darling Lalia was the one breaking her promises. She would bang on my door, demanding to have sex with me. I didn't even want to deal with that. She wasn't thinking right, and why would I want to take advantage of her in that state?"_

 _Shiro stared at Keith with a disappointed expression that made Keith want to cry, "Get out."_

 _Keith had never felt anymore alone._

At least Hunk and Shay didn't hate him as much as everyone else did. Keith stared at the ocean, the blue taunting him with its tranquility. The same blue that made Lance's eyes glow and Lalia's eyes sparkle in the sun. Keith always thought Lalia was a fire, like him. Speaking in the manner of zodiacs and such, how does a fire love another fire? They want the same things, and so they compete for them. The heat and hunger of Lalia's fire terrified Keith. Not all the time, but there were instances where it did. The doctors said that depression was to blame. They gave her all the help medicine could offer, but Lalia refused to accept her depression. So she turned to the only thing that could offer solace and drank it to the point where she was obsessed.

 _You've failed as a lover and even as a friend._

Keith slapped himself, literally. His abusive father was the worst motherfucker Keith knew; even today, the Korean man kept taunting him in the background and it got worse as he let his thoughts run on. Keith supposed that's why he acted without thinking, so his father couldn't come back. Not then, not ever. Shiro had the same eye color as Keith's dad. No one knew why, but they did. For a time, Shiro's eyes were the most terrifying thing Keith knew. Every single time Keith looked at them, he could only think of the harsh words and even harsher hand that his father had. That's when he and Shiro started to argue. The night Keith punched Shiro in the face was one he would never forget. They were arguing about Shiro leaving to go to Japan, and Keith felt that he was before his father. Keith felt like he was punching the man who broke his arm.

Shiro went to hospital with a dislocated jaw.

That's when his father came back into his thoughts. Keith's father was, of course, long gone before any authorities could arrest him, but he lurked in Keith's mind. Keith's mother grew more and more distant over the years and when Keith graduated high school, he left.

He drove his motorcycle all the way to New York, got a job, and rented out an apartment. Using his savings and scholarships, Keith applied for a college and got in. Trying to forget his family's existence, he even changed his last name to Kogane. He blocked all calls from his mother and brother.

He was just Keith Kogane.

If only that would've remained the case when he met Lalia.

After a couple hours of searching, everyone returned home. There was general avoidance of Keith except from Matt and Allura. Matt had said that he went through something similar once, so he wouldn't even try to turn his back on Keith. Allura strangely wasn't mad at Keith. She said there was something about him that made her feel that he was honest but sometimes he just didn't know when to be honest.

That did hurt.

Keith was also blamed that _he_ let Lotor in since Keith remembered that there was a male figure sleeping in his room when he woke up. In total, Keith was responsible for three problems in the Sanchez household.

Keith laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

 _Can I wake up now?_

Lalia stared in horror at the image before her. The tall male grinned at her with pure malice in it.

"Why don't you help an old friend out and I won't tell your family that you've been with a girl who left little bruises on your pretty neck?" Lalia collapsed to the ground, who told him? How did he get that photo?

What was she thinking, getting drunk in a bar?

Lalia's cheeks became wet with tears that came of their own accord.

"I'll do it." she whispered. _I'm sorry Keith. I'm sorry Lance._

 _I'm sorry Mami._

The man kicked Lalia in the side, she fell flat on the warm cement.

"Pathetic." he spat. Then, he walked away, leaving Lalia to numb herself with tears and voices in her head.

 _Welp._

 _Shit just got real here._

 _Have a marvelous day everyone and please stay safe out there!_

 _I am looking for a beta reader!_

 _Additionally, I will be edited the first couple of chaps so they are grammatically correct._


	10. Chapter 9

_**Warning: Graphic Descriptions of Kissing**_

Lance's feet finally touched land. He looked around, waiting for someone to show up and demand where he was. Then again, it was the middle of the night so he doubted anyone would be awake at this hour. Lance sat down on the sand, setting his surfboard and paddle by his side. He stared at the stars dancing in the black sky they called home. With a start, he noticed a shooting star bolting across the sky. He smiled. The fascination of space from Lance's childhood remained throughout high school and college. Still enraptured with the sky, he didn't hear the door open or the gasp of surprise. Cautious steps made their way towards him and it wasn't till his head was being turned and lips pressed on his that Lance did notice. Lance's eyes widened. Their lips separated and Lance immediately noticed amber eyes that could only belong to Pidge.

"P-Pidge?" Lance stammered. Pidge looked away, a blush dusting her cheekbones.

"Yeah, I've felt like that for a long time." she said. Lance continued to stare at her, not sure how to respond. However, when Pidge's eyes turned back to his and her lips came closer, his heart stopped. Lance leaned away.

"Pidge, I'm sorry. I can't do this right now." he said, not daring to meet her eyes. Silence filled the void that started to form between them.

"It's okay, I get it. I'm a junior, you're a freshman in college." she said, tears heavy in her voice.

"Pidge that's not it-"

"I am such a fool for thinking that this could work. Oh why the hell did I kiss you?" Tears started to fall from Pidge's eyes.

"Pidge, please let me expl-"

"And you want to know the worst part? I already knew you'd reject me. When we first met two years ago, I fell in love with you instantly. You were just this person I'd always wanted in my life. The way you acted and do you still remember how you flirted with me? I-I thought you'd want to be with me. So I harbored feelings for two years to see if you showed any sign of desire. I made stuff up to fill in the gaps. Then Keith came and I could just see the way you just tripped over your feet to surround yourself with his presence. Lance, I felt-"

"Stop talking." Pidge immediately shut up, "I'm not going to deny that I like Keith. A lot. But I'm not ready to put myself in a position where someone can break my heart. I know you'll find someone else. I really am sorry that I can't be that person for you. Although, I do hope that we can still remain friends." Pidge stood up. Lance met her eyes, sparkling with tears.

"I need to go somewhere where I can think in silence." Lance nodded and Pidge walked off. Lance turned his gaze back to the sky.

 _I'm sorry Katie._

 _/_

Keith's slumber was disturbed with a door squeaking open and close.

Well more specifically, a hand on his face.

He bolted up and immediately shot forward with his fist.

"Jesus Christ!" came a voice as Keith's fist connected with skin. Keith's eyes adjusted to the room, and he saw Lance holding his cheek.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" Keith apologized frantically, getting off the bed not knowing what to do with his hands. Lance looked up at Keith and smiled.

"Good to see you too." Then Keith realized, he was talking to _Lance._ The same one who _disappeared._

"Where were you?" Keith hissed, anger coming back full force. Lance held his hands- well, hand- up.

"Chill out, I was at a secret hideout. It's where I usually go when I need to think."

"Well that's one problem resolved for me." Keith muttered, Lance's eyes widened and Keith swore he saw red on Lance's cheeks.

Keith immediately berated himself as soon as Lance smirked, "Aw, did you miss me?"

"Haha Lance. Unfortunately for me, your family blames me for your disappearance, Lalia's disappearance, as well as Lotor breaking in." Lance's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise.

"They blame _you_ for all that? You haven't even _done_ anything!" Lance exclaimed. Keith blew his hair out of his face.

"Well I wouldn't exactly I'm entirely innocent either. I had an argument with Lalia before she ran off. We have this secret code where we don't bother each other after an argument until we're ready." Keith sighed, "Although, if I knew ahead of time she wouldn't return home, I would have tried to make up sooner."

"Remember our discussion in the car the first day you got here?"

"Yeah..?"

"You seemed scared of her. Now I'm not saying I hate you for that, there was a time where no one knew how to help her, but maybe you're blaming yourself too much. I understand if my family tried to impose all of the blame on you, but they're scared for Lalia. I'm sure Shiro would have done the same if you went missing... Okay, now I'm just making excuses." Lance sighed and looked at Keith, "On behalf of my family, I apologize."

"... isn't that a line from my play?" Keith asked. Lance laughed.

"So you noticed?"

"That line was from a scene that was living hell to write."

"Well, I like that scene, Alex's honesty to Kisa reminded me of of Hunk and Shay a lot. They're really open with one another."

Keith smiled, "I'm glad someone liked it."

Lance's face went red, Keith saw it. Lance was _blushing_.

"Can I kiss you?" Lance blurted out. Keith's eyes widened and his face exploded in warmth.

"I-I, wh-what? I mean- I guess?" he stammered. It wasn't soon after that his own lips were met with Lance's and Keith felt himself _melt_ into Lance. Their lips separated all too soon.

"L-Lance we shouldn't-" Keith started, but his words were stopped with a gentle finger on his lips.

"Please." Lance whispered, Keith saw the Cuban's eyes and immediately squashed any other protests. They tentatively connected their lips once more. After a moment, Lance cupped Keith's face with his hands. Keith opened his mouth slightly and invited Lance in. Lance took no time to explore Keith's mouth. Keith shivered with the pure delight of it. When Lance had explored every cranny of his mouth, Keith firmly pressed his mouth against Lance's once more. They broke apart for breath, a strand of saliva between them. They gazed at each other before pressing their lips once more together. Their teeth clinked and their noses bumped, but they didn't care. Keith hurriedly slid his hands under Lance's shirt and felt the warm skin that delighted his senses. Keith explored Lance's back and his chest. Resting his hand over Lance's heart, Keith felt it racing. He had no doubt his own was as well.

"You're amazing." Lance whispered, "At kissing I mean. Are you sure you're straight?" Keith laughed softly.

"If I told you, you'd hate me."

Lance smiled, "I'm not sure I could after you kissed me senseless." Keith laughed and kissed Lance again. Lance gently reciprocated with equal affection. Then Keith realized, he quickly ended the kiss.

"Oh my God, what are we going to tell your family?" Lance froze.

" _Shit._ What are we going to tell my family?" Keith slid his hands out from under Lance's shirt.

"I mean they might not noti-"

"Oh no they will, they're perceptive as hell."

" _Fuck._ "

"If it's not my family then it'll sure as hell be Hunk, Pidge, and the rest." Lance's eyes flashed with guilt when he mentioned Pidge, but Keith decided not to question it.

"We could start a rivalry?" Keith suggested, Lance shook his head.

"Everyone will notice the change. Allura already said she noticed my staring at you." They froze as Lance realized what he said.

"Your _staring.._?" Keith repeated, not quite believing it. Lance's face dove behind hands.

"Yes, my staring." he admitted after a moment of awkward silence. Keith chuckled and removed Lance's hands from his face. Lance looked at Keith with embarrassment on his face and Keith pressed his lips on Lance's.

After a sweet moment, Keith broke the kiss.

"It's okay, I stare too." he said. Lance's head dropped to Keith shoulder.

"We're hopeless." Keith laughed and put his arms around Lance's figure.

"We kinda are."

"You're a good kisser despite having a mullet."

"My hair grows that way naturally."

"If you say so."

It wasn't till midnight that they fell asleep.

 _Well heyyyy_

 _How you doin'?_

 _I'm imagining this thing is going to be maybe 6 or so more chapters?_

 _I'm not too sure._

 _BUT HEY_

 _YOU GOT SOME KLANCE KISSIN_

 _Stay safe!_

 _(I am looking for a beta reader)_


	11. Chapter 10

_Hello once more!_

 _I would like to say that there will probably be no update next week since I have finals *hissing* But do expect one in February? Maybe the second week? I have a competition the first weekend of February so that's fun. Also, I have no idea if I'll be able to keep posting if my because of America's stupid government repealing net neutrality. For those of you who have no idea what it is, net neutrality is when your ISP (internet service provider) can't charge you for using some websites and for not using others. If my ISP does start charging money, I'll probably have to stop posting. For those of you in the same boat, call your government representatives when the government reboots itself, stupid fucking political reasons MY ASS.*sighs* Anyway, please enjoy this chap._

Lance was the first one to wake up. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes awake. When that didn't work, he started to lightly slap his cheeks. All that provoked was a small stab of pain with each slap. The reminder was what really woke up Lance because _holy shit,_ he had kissed Keith Kogane, his sister's _boyfriend._ The really sexy boy that Lalia had talked so much about, and the same boy that Lance maybe had a crush on before he even saw the aforementioned male. A small sigh made Lance whip his attention to his left.

The sight took Lance's breath away.

Keith looked so open without a scowl on or an expression of anger. Lance laid down again, this time facing Keith. He really liked Keith, maybe even more than any other crush he'd ever had. Then again, he had a really bad habit of crushing on the _Mean Girls_ type of people. Flaxum was a bit different from previous romances, but she had 'dumped' him after he brought her home in seventh grade. Additionally, her family was there for only a year and Lance never heard from her again. Lance sighed, scolding himself for thinking about his love life _again_. Keith's lips curled up on either end ever so slightly. Lance didn't bother resisting the smile the blossomed on his face. Keith was cute when he was asleep.

 _There you go again Lance, falling head over heels. Do you even remember what happened with Lotor?_

Lance shut his eyes closed, begging the tears not to come out. He did not need to cry in front of a sleeping Keith like a wimp. After what seemed to stretch for infinity, Lance opened his eyes and accidentally blew Keith's hair out of his face with his breath. Keith's eyebrows twitched in annoyance before resting once more. Lance took great delight in that and gently blew out air from his mouth, disturbing Keith's bangs. The same result. Lance giggled and did it again.

"That does get annoying." Keith murmured sleepily, keeping his eyes closed.

"Then make me stop." Lance teased, blowing on Keith's face again.

"Do I have to? I'm comfy and the bed's warm right now." Keith whined.

"Then I'll keep doing it." Lance responded, blowing on Keith's face for emphasis. Keith cracked his eyes open.

"If I give you five dollars will you stop?"

Lance smirked, "Sure, _daddy._ " Keith's eyes widened in surprise and Lance was no doubt blushing as he realized what he said, "Fuck, I didn't mean it like that."

Keith groaned into his pillow, "You're hopeless."

"I know."

"You really need to stop making a habit with sleeping with random dudes and then calling them _daddy_ in the morning. Especially after they've had only _six hours of sleep._ "

"Old habits die hard."

"You do realize that makes it worse, right?"

Lance kissed Keith, who immediately responded to it by giving him a better angle. Lance smirked and leaned back, "And you need to stop kissing dudes who think you're straight." Guilt flashed in Keith's eyes, but Lance pretended not to notice it.

"I guess you could say it's a habit."

"Now who's making it worse?"

Keith smiled, "Shut up."

"Make me." Lance retorted, resting his cheek on his hand.

"Gladly." Keith grabbed Lance's shirt and slotted their lips together. Lance smiled, cupping Keith's cheek.

 _It's just a crush... right?_

 _/_

Keith and Lance went upstairs at different times to avoid suspicion. Everyone was surprised and relieved at Lance's appearance to the table. Even Shiro looked at Keith with a much more softer glare in his eyes. Allura and Matt smiled at Keith's small smile on his face.

"I sense something happened last night." Matt said, nudging Keith with his elbow. Keith rolled his eyes in place of his usual response of a glare.

"Something definitely happened last night." Allura said, smiling. Matt leaned back and Keith caught the smile he sent her way. It was wistful and sad, and Keith guessed the Italian harbored some kind of feelings for the female.

"Lance looks way happier than he did when he left." said a voice from behind the trio's little corner by the entrance. Keith switched his gaze to see an amused Hunk looking at Lance and his family.

"Happier?" Keith remarked, confused to what Hunk meant. Lance looked plenty happy before he disappeared. Hunk smiled at Keith, a smile the Korean thought suspicious.

"Happier." Hunk answered and Keith decided not to further question the idea. He rested his head on the doorway, still staring at Lance reassuring his family he was okay. Over the din of the family's chatter, Keith heard a question that made his heart stop cold.

"Where's Lalia?" In theory, the question was simple and it was harmless. It was a family's concern for their missing member, but Keith realized that the concern would soon be pressed on him. Keith quietly excused himself and slipped out the front door. A breeze gently ruffled Keith's hair and the air carried the promise of rain. Keith sighed and ran to the road, wondering where Lalia could be.

Lance was overwhelmed by his family, although they were the best things on Earth to him, they did get a bit persistent. And oh boy did they get persistent now. After all the concerns made themselves apparent, anger flooded in to take their place. The first to fall under its spell was Antonio, and he wasted no time responding to it.

"Alejandro, Alessandra, and Sofie can you go to the living room for a moment?" Antonio said in tone that made it clear that he wasn't asking. Grumbling, the children went to the living room and Luciana and Samuel went with them, making it clear that they wanted no part in whatsoever in what would happen. They always were the pacifists of the family, but often they stayed out of arguments. Lance didn't blame them, things tended to get heated. He shot a glance to where his friends were and urged them to get out with his eyes. Hunk was about to protest, but Allura shook her head. Reluctantly, his support left the room and Lance sighed, prepared for the onslaught of questions from Antonio and the rest.

"Where did that boy keep you?" Antonio asked, staring down Lance.

"Which one?" Lance asked, confused to what Antonio meant.

"Keith. Where did he hole you up?" Valentina asked, narrowing her eyes. Lance felt shock, but also anger.

Red hot anger ready to lash out.

"You accused Keith of holding me hostage?" Lance asked, his voice taut with anger, "He didn't even _do_ anything to me!"

"Lotor was in the house not long before we discovered you were missing, hell, he was sleeping in your _bed_ in the basement." Nicolas returned, leaning on the kitchen counter, blocking Lance's only exit.

"There is no way that Keith would've let Lotor in. I've been with Keith this whole week so far and there's no way he even saw Lotor." Lance growled, feeling betrayed by his family.

"Are you even aware of the fact that he and Lalia had an argument? Shiro told me from what Keith told him, it was a really bad one." Antonio said.

"Why should it matter? All couples have arguments." Lance growled, not buying his brother's bullshit. Antonio looked at Lance with an angry glint in his eye.

"He told her they were _broken._ " After the words processed in Lance's brain he recoiled, as if hit.

"There's no way.." the teen breathed, refusing to believe that the same Keith that he maybe-had-a-crush-on could say something so cruel to his sister.

/

Keith's phone buzzed and after a few more annoying buzzes, he decided to check his phone. Punching in his code, he found the source of his annoyance. A text message from an unknown number, he grumbled and was about to delete the messages before a new message buzzed in and Keith's breath stopped.

 _If you want to see Lalia again, go the Empire bar. She'll be waiting._

Keith didn't bother considering the text, he sprinted full force.

It didn't take long for Keith to reach the bar that the text said where Lalia would be located. He hurriedly looked around, looking for Lalia's familiar brown hair or the glint of her blue eyes. When he almost was ready to accept that the lead was a fraud one, he caught a glimpse of the same red Lalia wore before she disappeared.

"Lalia?" Keith breathed, expecting it to just be a mirage.

To his surprise it wasn't, Lalia emerged from the alley. Keith noticed she had been crying.

"Get out of here Keith, please." she whispered, her gaze cast to the ground.

"Can I least have an explanation as to why you disappeared?" Keith asked, taking a step towards her. Lalia immediately took a step back; whatever had happened to her, it was clear that this wasn't the same vibrant Lalia Keith once knew.

"You really don't want to know why." she said, quietly.

"Why not?"

"If you stay here any longer then he will find out. You'll be killed and Lance will be broken." Lalia cried quietly, and Keith noticed the dirt that coated her body and the gash on her arm that she was trying to hide from Keith.

"Please Lalia, let me help." Keith begged, taking a step forward. Lalia took another step back. Two in fact.

"Lance will be broken and it'll be my fault." Lalia said again, finally raising her expression to look at Keith's. Her eyes looked _broken_ , they were red and now dull of the light that once filled them to the brim, "Get out of here Keith, before he comes."

"I won't. I can't, your family is worried for you." Keith said again.

"Leave." she called out again, nervously glancing behind Keith.

"Please Lalia." Keith heard a thump behind him and Lalia scampered into an alley with wide, fearful eyes.

"You really should listen to your girlfriend. It's a crying shame it had to end like this."

/

Lance could only think about the way Keith laughed and smiled at him as his family droned on and on about how Keith was to blame. Strangely, his mom and Esperanza were silent, but Lance sensed it was the disapproving silence. Of who Lance had no idea. He buried his face in his hands.

 _"Lance I need to tell you something." Keith said nervously, biting his lip. It was late, maybe midnight. Lance turned his body to fully face Keith._

 _"What's up?" he asked gently, sensing the noirette's inner turmoil. Keith glanced at Lance's eyes again before letting his gaze fall again._

 _"I don't know if I love your sister."_

Lance felt tears building up in his eyes. but he refused to let them fall.

 _"I mean she's great and everything, but she deserves someone who can tell her that they love her more than words can describe. Someone that's not me, who can't see past what has happened or accept the present."_

 _"You two didn't look like that to me."_

 _"Lance, there's a line I crossed that I put down. I said things to her and I'm not sure if I told her lies or the truth. I just... I want someone to show me what it means to even be loved because at this point, I don't know." Keith closed his eyes and sighed, then opened his eyes and smiled, "Forget I said anything."_

 _Lance didn't think he'd ever forget the sadness that lingered in Keith's eyes._

"Stop it." Lance whispered, and although it was quiet, everyone fell silent. Lance looked up to face his family, "You have no _idea_ about what Keith might've gone through. Sure he made a mistake, but don't we all? Keith doesn't deserve to be hated just because he doesn't know what to do. Doesn't it ever cross your mind that Keith might've been Lalia's only lifeline? Are we saying that Keith didn't stop Lalia from immersing herself in her own depression? Are you all that low?"

Silence was all that greeted the final words, but it said more than enough.

"I agree with Lance." Esperanza said after the silence grew too heavy. Everyone snapped their attention to her, and Lance was shocked by his sister-in-law's words, "Lance clearly saw something in Keith that none of you saw and, honestly, Lance is a better judge of character than most of you are. It doesn't matter what they did to you, it matters what they do to fixwhat they did." Lance felt a wave of gratitude for his sister-in-law and her lack of anger.

"I think we all owe Keith an apology." Jimena said, making sure to give everyone a pointed stare, "We've been overly hostile to him during his stay and he doesn't deserve as ounce of it. He and Lalia had an argument, sure, but don't we all? It's not like those of you who are married aren't familiar with it."

Lance nervously looked at his family as they mulled over what the two women had said. Valentina was the first to sigh.

"They have a point." the millennial said, "We've been huge dicks to Keith."

"That's a bad word." Alex replied.

"Shut up."

Antonio stared at his wife, who met his gaze easily and with confidence. A few moments into their contest, Antonio sighed, "Let's go find Keith. We need to apologize."

 _And with that I present the end of Chapter 10!_

 _Sorry it took a bit longer to write this chap, but in my defense it's 2k+ words._

 _Alright I gotta go and study *bleh*_

 _Stay safe!_


End file.
